Statement of Purpose
The Linfield Review Statement of Purpose
The Linfield Review, henceforth known in this document as TLR, is the independent student newspaper of Linfield University. TLR is committed to serving the intellectual collegiate community. It is a vehicle for free expression. TLR’s major responsibilities are to report news to Linfield students, to serve as an outlet for student opinion, and to provide hands-on training and experience in producing journalism. TLR makes every reasonable effort to publish student opinions that are not libelous, profane or obscene. Student opinion takes precedence over administration, faculty and staff opinion because TLR is published primarily for the benefit of students.
News
TLR is responsible for reporting news to Linfield students. It is not a public-relations outlet for Linfield University. The paper has no obligations to reflect the interests of the college to trustees, alumni or prospective students. Because TLR receives a significant portion of its funds from students’ activities fees, its primary mission is to provide news for current, fee-paying students. The paper’s editor-in-chief, managing editor, and section editors (e.g. news, sports, etc.) assign all material that appears in TLR aside from editorials, columns and letters submitted by the Linfield community at large. The editor-in-chief is ultimately responsible for all editorial content in the paper. The Associated Students of Linfield University (ASLU) Cabinet and Senate, the administration and TLR adviser do not control content, though they are welcome to make suggestions.
Opinion
TLR opinion pages contain editorials, opinion columns and letters. Editorials are unsigned pieces that represent TLR’s collective? opinion as determined by an editorial board comprising the editor-in-chief, the managing editor, the opinion editor, the copy chief and one other section editor, who will be chosen on a rotating basis each month.
Opinion columns are signed pieces meant to generate campus-wide discussions about topics. They are usually written by students, but they may also be written by faculty, administrators or readers. These signed columns are the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of TLR, ASLC or Linfield University.
Letters are also signed opinions. The newspaper does not publish unsigned letters. TLR encourages students to respond to stories and opinion pieces in the paper by writing to the editor. In this way TLR best serves the concept of a vigorous, free press. Letters from faculty, staff and administrators are accepted and usually printed, although letters from students have priority.
Advertising
TLR places one automatic restriction on advertising: It does not accept any ad that misrepresents its product. Advertisers have no control over the content of TLR. Advertising does not reflect the opinion of the newspaper and does not represent endorsement of messages or products advertised. Advertising provides up to half of the newspaper’s budget. As a business, TLR does not often refuse advertising.
Distribution
TLR is distributed to students and other members of the Linfield community through a news website run by the paper’s editorial board.
Paid positions
The editor-in-chief; managing, news, sports, culture, opinion, features, photo, copy, online and multimedia editors; copy chief; graphics/ads designer; senior reporters; senior photographers; and business manager receive monthly stipends set by the editor-in-chief and approved by the Communications Board. Stipends are paid to partially compensate for the time the editors give to TLR. The amount of this commission is determined by the editor-in-chief and, like ad rates, is subject to change annually. Columnists and illustrators are paid per story/illustration ran at a rate determined by the editor. The circulation manager is paid minimum wage through granted federal work-study funds.
TLR-adviser relationship
The academic adviser to TLR, a faculty member in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies mass communication (JAMS), gives procedural advice to the staff members. TLR will consider this advice but is not obligated to act upon it. The adviser also:
- Makes and keeps the staff aware of the professional principles and practices in journalism,
- Regularly offers constructive criticism of the paper,
- Provides continuity for TLR as the staff changes from year to year,
- Serves as the link to the JAMS department, the faculty, and other university personnel,
- When possible and necessary, assists with the purchase of equipment and supplies through the departmental budget.
TLR as an educational tool
TLR is a vehicle for hands-on experience and training in journalism production. For this reason, it is vital that it follows the journalism principles students will encounter after college as closely as possible. TLR adheres to the statement of principles the American Society of Newspaper Editors adopted in 1975 and makes every effort to adhere to the code of ethics the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi adopted in 1996. Because TLR is an educational endeavor, students make their own informed judgments in regard to content, reporting, editing, production and business. The emphasis is on “learning by doing.”